Leslie was featured in a previous program, Rotary in Niger, posted by PP Susan Weaver in February 2017. Here's what Susan had to say about Leslie.

Leslie in Niger

"Let me introduce you to Leslie Clark, who is among the most adventurous people I have had the pleasure to know. An honorary member of the Rotary Club of Ojai, Leslie is the force behind The Nomad Foundation.

The story of the Nomad Foundation begins with Leslie’s reading the book 'The Nomads of Niger' by Carol van Beckwith. Fascinated, Leslie packed her bags and set off to see Niger and to get to know the nomads for herself undeterred by the fact that the country was in a state of rebellion."

The Nomad Foundation has partnered with Rotary on several programs through the years. Our E-Club has made small financial contributions to two of these efforts - the midwife training project and the microcredit program for at-risk youth.

The POWER OF PEACE™ Podcast, Barbara Gaughen-Muller interviews artist and cultural innovator Leslie Clark. Leslie is founder/owner of Nomad Gallery and, since 1993, founder/president of Nomad Foundation, both based in Ojai, California. In this Power of Peace™ podcast learn how Leslie started her traveling as a painter in Africa and how her firsthand experience of armed conflict brought her a deeper respect for the Nomads. For 25+ years, she has worked to provide education, medical care, vocational training and water for under-served, marginalized nomadic groups on the edge of the Sahara Desert in Niger. Find out about her mission: stability and social and economic well-being to nomadic cultures of the Sahara. See how she has worked to bring an understanding of these “exotic” cultures through long-term cultural exchange and economic support through sales of their artistic creations.

Her story shows us how she transformed lives and continues to change the lives of everyone involved through her long-term project:

Digging wells to supply clean water

Installing solar power with panels built & installed by nomads through a nomad foundation training program to provide electricity to remote & rural areas in the developing world